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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S4W-28714

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 9 December 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the (a) schedule, (b) agendas, (c) list of spokespeople in attendance and (d) recorded attendance of stakeholder workshop meetings to facilitate consultation on the public health impact assessment in respect of the moratorium on unconventional gas extraction and fracking.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

The public health impact assessment on unconventional oil and gas extraction is an independent piece of work being delivered by Health Protection Scotland. Health Protection Scotland has published information about the stakeholder workshops on its website, which is accessible at:

http://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/enviro/unconventionalgas.aspx?subjectid=49.

Question reference: S4W-28715

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 30 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Maureen Watt on 9 December 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what (a) funding and (b) staffing has been allocated to conducting the public health impact assessment in respect of the moratorium on unconventional gas extraction and fracking.

The public health impact assessment on unconventional oil and gas extraction is an independent piece of work being delivered by Health Protection Scotland. Full details of the funding which will be provided have not yet been finalised, but will cover the additional costs incurred by Health Protection Scotland in the course of this work.

The Health Protection Scotland environmental public health team, who are experienced in providing advice on a wide range of environmental risks to health, are leading this work. A full time dedicated scientific researcher has been employed to support it. A range of other organisations are also providing support, including NHS Health Scotland, the Scottish Health and Inequalities Impact Assessment Network, and the Scottish Public Health Network. Technical advice is also being provided by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the British Geological Survey, the Health and Safety Executive, local authority planning officers and local authority environmental health officers.

Question reference: S4W-28448

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 13 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 7 December 2015

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comment by the Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism on 11 November 2015 (Official Report, c. 92), that "there is an ambition for a further 14,000 homes" to be connected to district heat networks by 2020, whether it will confirm where the developments will be located and how it will support them.

Since March 2014 over 2,000 homes have connected to communal or district heating schemes including:

The Commonwealth Games Athletes’ Village, with 750 homes connected;

Several Wheatley Group developments in Glasgow, connecting over 800 homes;

Continued expansion of existing heat networks in Aberdeen, Wick, Lerwick and Banchory.

A list of district heating projects in development was published on the Heat Network Partnership web-page earlier in 2015 and is available on the following link: http://www.districtheatingscotland.com/hnp-projects-map-in-development.

Many district heating schemes are still at an early stage of development and currently it is not possible to provide details on all of them, however intelligence garnered from local authorities, social landlords and the Energy Savings Trust indicates that there is the potential for an additional 14,000 homes to connect over and above those schemes already identified in the pipeline.

There is a comprehensive range of support available to support the development of district heating schemes through the Heat Network Partnership, the Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme, the Local Energy Challenge Fund and the District Heating Loan Fund.

Examples of projects in development which these programmes are engaging with include:

Continued expansion of existing networks could connect a further 2,000 households or more by 2020, with potential for wider expansion in the long-term;

Eight district heating projects awarded Local Energy Challenge Fund development support, with initial connections planned for over 2,000 households;

The Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme is engaging with a number of large-scale integrated district heating projects to discuss support for the development of detailed businesses cases;

The Heat Network Partnership and Warm Homes Fund have supported strategies, business cases and feasibility studies for over 20 projects, identifying district heating projects which could connect a significant number of households, particularly in multi-storey blocks. Case studies of successful schemes are available on the Energy Saving Trust website: www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/warm-homes-fund and selected studies available on the Heat Network Partnership website: www.districtheatingscotland.com.

A number of these projects represent a step change in the scale of district heating, located in urban areas with significant potential for long-term development of integrated networks connecting households, public, commercial and industrial buildings and potential for future expansion. In addition, small-scale rural renewable projects make up around 10% of household connections. The District Heating Loan Fund continues to support these projects by providing low interest loans, enabling rural businesses and social housing schemes to access the Renewable Heat Incentive.

Question reference: S4W-28466

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Richard Lochhead on 1 December 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is monitoring the reported increase of rents in the farming sector.

The Scottish Government monitors annual changes in farming sector rent through its statistical surveys. Results are available in the Tenanted Agricultural Land in Scotland publication which is usually released in late April of each year.

The latest published figures show that in 2014:

The average rent (across all holdings) was £38 per hectare;

For holdings in Less Favoured Areas (LFA), the average rent was £25 per hectare;

For holdings in non LFA, the average rent was £125 per hectare.

In 2014, on average:

Rents increased by 6% (4% in real terms);

For LFA holdings, the average increase was 10%;

For non LFA holdings, the average increase was 1%.

The next set of farming sector rent statistics (collected from the 2015 December agricultural survey) are scheduled for publication in April 2016 and will be available on the Scottish Government’s website using the following link:

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Agriculture-Fisheries/agtenancy.

Question reference: S4W-28490

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 30 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has carried out of how abolishing air passenger duty might impact on its ability to meet its climate change targets.

Transport Scotland published analysis in September 2014 which estimated that reducing air passenger duty (APD) in Scotland by 50% would generate a small net annual increase in emissions of between 0.05 and 0.06 mega tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

In recognition of the important environmental issues involved, the Scottish Government is working with environmental groups on its APD stakeholder forum and will be undertaking a strategic environmental assessment alongside the development of legislative proposals for a Scottish replacement tax.

Question reference: S4W-28425

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 12 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 26 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government whether it sought legal advice to confirm the integrity of its directions to local authorities and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency in relation to fracking and underground coal gasification in January and October 2015.

Question reference: S4O-04889

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 25 November 2015
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 2 December 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the president of NUS Scotland's evidence to the Education and Culture Committee that further education student support in Scotland is “not fit for purpose”.

Question reference: S4W-28467

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 16 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by John Swinney on 25 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government what percentage of respondees to its consultations in each of the last five years has asked for the response not to be published, broken down by directorate.

Question reference: S4W-28322

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 06 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 19 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the UK Government's consultation on whether fracking should take place in such areas, whether it will use the moratorium on unconventional gas extraction to consider whether it should be permitted (a) at surface level in and (b) below (i) national parks, (ii) natura sites and (iii) sites of special scientific interest.

On 8 October 2015 the Scottish Government announced a timetable for a comprehensive programme of research and consultation on unconventional oil and gas. Through this process we will give full and careful consideration to the impact that this technology could have, wherever potential sites might be.

In the meantime, the Scottish Government is clear that no fracking can or will take place whilst the moratorium announced on 28 January 2015 remains in force.

Question reference: S4W-28283

Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 November 2015
Current Status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 19 November 2015

To ask the Scottish Government how exploration, which is prohibited under the terms of the moratorium on fracking, differs from drilling a borehole solely for the purpose of core sampling, and how it determines when such activity can proceed in its directions to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and local authorities.

Petroleum exploration and development licences have been issued in Scotland under a UK Government licensing regime. This regime divides oil and gas developments into four stages – exploration, appraisal, production and decommissioning.

Under the UK's licensing regime, exploratory drilling can include boreholes to extract core samples, and test fracking and hydrocarbon (oil and gas) flow testing.

However, boreholes for test fracking or hydrocarbon flow testing are prohibited under the terms of the moratorium.

In line with the Scottish Government’s evidence-led approach to unconventional oil and gas, only boreholes to extract core samples are not included in the moratorium. Core sampling allows analysis of data including stratigraphy and rock properties.

Any proposal for a borehole would also need to demonstrate that it will be undertaken in collaboration with an independent research body (such as the British Geological Survey) or academic institution. A company seeking to drill a borehole to acquire a core sample would also need to obtain all the necessary regulatory consents. These would include planning permission from a local planning authority and an environmental permit from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. It would then be for regulators to determine whether or not the site is acceptable and whether drilling should be allowed.

The Scottish Government is committed to review planning guidance to ensure that borehole applications are subject to appropriate public scrutiny and that proposals satisfactorily address all the likely impacts on local communities and the environment.